Fantastical Women Writers

Last week, in honor of National Book Month, we shared with you some of our favorite women writers. But that list is long, and we realize that some writers get swept under the rug because they’re fantastical or far-fetched. Yet, their time spent creating magical worlds, dark worlds, and beautiful worlds, does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Nor should they, as many of these books offer readers a break from the mundane.

With that in mind, what better time than the witchiest of all months, to celebrate those women who take on genre categories. Their writing simultaneously inspiring and terrifying us with their made-up worlds.

Fantasy

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
With the overwhelming success of Starz’s television adaption of Diana Gabaldon’sOutlander novels, the books are back in the spotlight. Though the first self-titled novel was published in 1991, Gabaldon is still hard at work on the series, which currently consists of eight books. However, the author – who has an intensive background in biology and a Ph.D. in Quantitative Behavioral Ecology – revels in the world she has created. Aside from Outlander, Gabaldon has also penned a spinoff series as well as a graphic novel. Yet the original story’s time jumping, love triangle is – in part – so amazing due to Gabaldon’s impressive main character. From her medical training to her outspokenness, Claire Randall has become a literary role model. And while the story doesn’t easily fit into any one genre (both romance and historic fiction are equal contenders), Outlander offers readers a time traveling escape with more depth than a typical love story.

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
A science fiction and magical realism writer, Nalo Hopkinson’s work is heavily influenced by her personal upbringing in the Caribbean. After years of writing short stories, Hopkinson wrote her first novel, Brown Girl in the Ring, in 1998. The futuristic book uses the guise of a science fiction-based future to tell the story of Ti-Jeanne, a new mother who must save her family from the city’s dictator and criminal mastermind. Through old magic and her family’s culture, Ti-Jeanne becomes a beacon of hope by the story’s end. In 1999, the novel won the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Many of Hopkinson’s books have received literally awards, and while the writer has spent several years battling a learning disability and severe illness – which left her homeless for a time – she is now a creative writing professor at University of California Riverside.

Thriller

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
If the name, Tess Gerritsen, sounds a bit familiar it might have to do with TNT’s summer series, Rizzoli & Isles. Gerritsen, who spent the first eleven years of her professional life working as a doctor, is the woman responsible for creating detective Jane Rizzoli and doctor Maura Isles. In fact, it’s thanks to her medical background that readers – and viewers – are often taken into the autopsy room so they can “see what I’ve seen, and to experience what it’s like to hold the pathologist’s knife,” she says in bio. In 1990, Gerritsen officially left medicine to give writing her full time attention. Though she’s written multiple crime and medical thrillers – many of which have found themselves on the bestsellers list – The Surgeon is her first novel to feature Rizzoli. The best friend duo star in ten subsequent novels, with the latest, Die Again, being released this January.

The Likeness by Tana French
While any book in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series is worth a read, The Likeness stands out for it’s powerful woman lead. The second novel in the series, this book follows the undercover detective, Cassie Maddox, as she pretends to be Lexie – a recent stabbing victim who shares an uncanny resemblance with Cassie. French offers her readers such a powerful connection to her protagonist that when things start to go wrong for Cassie it feels personal. A trained actress with a degree from Trinity College, French worked in the entertainment business before penning her first novel in 2007. Though her writing consists solely of the Dublin Murder Squad, her novels have received multiple awards including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2012. There are now five books in her series.

Classic Gothic

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier, also known as Lady Browning, wrote Rebecca in 1938, making this the oldest book on our list. In the 76 years since it’s publication, the Gothic romance meets psychological thriller has not only remained a bestseller, it’s also never been out of print. While du Maurier authored seven novels, multiple short stories, and a dozen works of non-fiction before her death in 1989, Rebecca is considered her Masterpiece. Following a nameless narrator, the book intertwines three women’s stories of jealousy, obsession, and love. Two years after Rebecca was released, director Alfred Hitchcock made it into an Oscar-winning movie staring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. We suggest reading the classic before the long-rumored remake gets made.

The list of genre women authors is long, and we realize we’re just covering the very tip of the iceberg. So, in honor of the upcoming supernatural holiday, tell us who are the women writers that make your hair stand on edge, or offer you escape from your day to day?

Contributor/Publisher Agreement

This agreement is made on , between SharpHeels / SharpHeels Group LLC, 8127 Mesa Dr B206, Austin, TX 78759 ("publisher") and ("contributor") regarding the contribution ("the articles") for publication on SharpHeels.com.

The Contribution. The contributor shall submit articles, on a consistent basis, to the publisher based on the contributor's area of expertise. The articles shall be submitted on or before the agreed upon due date (Tracked by editorial calendar).

Editorial Copy. Article copy and tone should be designed to Educate, Motivate, and Captivate. All copy should be void of any direct self-promotion for the contributor's organization. Copy that includes the contributor and/or its products should only be included when it benefits the audience and not to the direct benefit of the contributor.

Changes. The publisher shall have the right to edit, revise, augment, re-title, and adapt all articles and to cause others to make such changes as the publisher may deem appropriate. The contributor shall be available to approve such changes.

Rights. Contributor grants to the Publisher an exclusive worldwide license to first publish, reproduce, display, distribute and use the Contribution in any media. The contributor retains ownership of all rights under copyright to the Contribution. If the contributor desires to publish the article on the contributor's website, the contributor is permitted, but must provide a link and reference to the original article on SharpHeels.com. Contributor shall not authorize any publication of the articles to additional parties except with the prior written consent of the publisher in each instance.

Images. The publisher may illustrate the articles with photographs or illustrations or both and contributor will, if supplying such photographs or illustrations by agreement, warrant their ownership and transfer needed rights and permissions to allow their publication. Publisher will provide images if not provided by the contributor.

Fact checking. Contributor will verify all facts in the articles, although the publisher shall have the right to check the article for accuracy.

Originality. Contributor warrants that the articles will be original, will not infringe on any copyright, invade any right of privacy, contain any libelous material, or infringe or violate any other right of any other person or entity.

Use of Name. Contributor, for publicity purposes, gives Publisher permission to use the Contributor's name, image, biography and likeness in all forms of media and in all manners in connection with the advertising and promotion of the Work and/or Contribution.

Promotion. Publisher will assume all costs associated with the publishing and promotion of the Contribution.

Compensation. There will be no financial compensation for contributor's posts. Publisher offers a platform to expand the contributor's reach for their specific expertise. Contributor's posts will be featured in SharpHeels newsletter , online and in Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)

Confidential Information. The Contributor and his or her employees shall not, during the time of rendering services to the Publisher or thereafter, disclose to anyone other than authorized employees or designated persons of the Publisher, any information of a confidential nature, including but not limited to, information relating to: any such materials or intellectual property; any of the Publisher projects or programs; the technical, commercial or any other affairs of the Publisher; or, any confidential information which the Company has received from a third party.

Termination. Publisher and/or the Contributor may terminate this Agreement in the event the parties no longer benefit from the partnership or upon notice of a breach to the agreement.

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas. The parties agree that a signature (electronic or in writing) on this Agreement shall be considered legally binding and executable.